Tale of the Tape: Canelo vs. Ryder
We look at how Canelo Alvarez, one of the world's best pound-for-pound boxers, stacks up against super middleweight contender John Ryder ahead of their upcoming fight Saturday in Mexico on DAZN.
Canelo Alvarez returns to the ring for the first time since defeating Gennadiy Golovkin in September to take part in his annual Cinco de Mayo fight.
This will be the first time "Cinnamon" has fought professionally in Mexico since defeating Kermit Cintron in 2011.
"I feel very proud and happy to bring this fight to Guadalajara and give the people some of the experience I have in other places as the best in the world," Alvarez said at his March press conference in San Diego.
"I think it's the perfect time. A long time ago, I wanted to fight in Guadalajara, but I think this is the perfect moment, the perfect fight to bring to Guadalajara."
Alvarez will square off against super middleweight contender John Ryder, the current WBO interim super middleweight titleholder and the division's No. 4-ranked fighter. Alvarez lost in his annual May fight last year to Dmitry Bivol.
While boxing fans await the Alvarez and Bivol rematch, Canelo can't underestimate Ryder and treat this like a warm-up fight. Ryder is in the midst of a four-fight winning streak that could have easily been a nine-fight run had it not been for a controversial decision loss to Callum Smith in November 2019.
Through that stretch, the 34-year-old Ryder defeated tough competitors in Daniel Jacobs and Zach Parker (his first loss), with the latter suffering a broken hand in the November bout.
"(Ryder) has everything to win, nothing to lose, right? He's always there, fighting with the good fighters trying to get that opportunity, and now he got it. It's going to be a danger for me, but I feel good," Alvarez said.
Saturday's bout should be somewhat of a style clash, with Alvarez and Ryder built similarly with near identical heights and reach. Both are aggressive and like to surge forward, though Alvarez doesn't begin taking action until after he studies his opponent for the first few rounds, while Ryder is aggressive from the start.
The power advantage goes to Alvarez and his 39 career knockouts, but Ryder is no slouch. He forced a stoppage against Jozef Jurko during a light heavyweight showdown in September 2021.
This one likely doesn't go the distance, with Canelo preferring to finish his opponents and Ryder having gone the full 12 rounds just twice since 2017.
Although Canelo enters as a heavy favorite fighting at home, Ryder shouldn't be underestimated; the last time Alvarez and his team underestimated their opponent, the Mexico native was on the wrong end of a decision against Bivol. To have that happen again would be a huge blow for one of this era's greatest fighters.